Suspected 'guns for fire' nabbed in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The police arrested on Saturday four suspected "killers-for-hire" implicated in at least 16 murders in recent weeks that may be related to the coming elections.

Teddy, Albehi, and Siong Biang, and Morsid Samal, who are also all wanted for alleged trafficking of shabu, are now in the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The four men were cornered by the CIDG-BARMM in Barangay Bulod, a secluded area in Sultan sa Barongis town in the second district of Maguindanao.

Local officials told reporters Sunday that the four suspects were involved in a spate of recent election-related killings in Maguindanao and in nearby towns in Sultan Kudarat province in Region 12.

The suspects surrendered when they were surrounded by police.

The raiding team confiscated an M14 rifle, an M16 rifle, a bolt-action .22 caliber rifle, three .45 pistols and a 9-mm Intratech machine pistol fitted with a noise suppressor from the suspects.

They were arrested three days after CIDG-BARMM personnel nabbed three gang members after a brief gunfight in Barangay Balanaken in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

Onz Meguan, who was wounded in the shootout, and Mangi Kato and Tato Tilendo are now in the custody of CIDG-BARMM.

CIDG-BARMM personnel were approaching their lair in Barangay Balanaken when they opened fire, sparking a brief shootout.

Meguan was shot as he was trying to hurl a fragmentation grenade at advancing CIDG-ARMM personnel.

The raiding team recovered five 40-mm grenade projectiles, rifle and pistol ammunition, and shabu in sealed sachets, after the shootout.

The targets of CIDG-BARMM’s operation in Barangay Balanaken were suspects in high-profile crimes, including large-scale peddling of shabu in remote barangays in Datu Piang and in nearby towns.